


Sun and Stubbornness

by FlashDriver



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 17:44:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20821295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlashDriver/pseuds/FlashDriver
Summary: A certain echidna's relaxing day at the beach is interrupted by the machinations of a jewel thief he knows all too well. This was written for the final day of Knuxouge week, it utilised the beach prompt!





	Sun and Stubbornness

The sun was high in the sky, the wind was cool and the sand was soft. Waves were gently lapping; their soft song filled the air and mingled with their salty smell. Knuckles the echidna, guardian of the master emerald and treasure hunter, was relaxing at the beach. The machinations of a certain trio (a pair of hedgehogs and a fox) had drawn him down from Angel Island for a day of fun and relaxation. They'd gone out for chilidogs, taken in a movie and were spending the evening at the beach. The sun was still a ways away from setting, there were perhaps a couple of hours left until it would start, but the sky would start its transformation soon. Amy had insisted that they end the day with a spot of beachside stargazing; it was surely an excuse to spend more time with Sonic but Knuckles was more than willing to humour them.

His friends were currently in the water, yes, even Sonic. Knuckles was watching them from the shore, half pretending to play lifeguard as he reclined and relaxed. Though he tried not to show it, socialising drained his batteries far more than anything else; the solitary life still had a hold on him. Rather than join them in the water and deal with more, he'd opted to simply rest and recharge; save that energy for their final, somewhat lazy, endeavour. Well, that and he thought they were fun to watch.

Sonic was trying so hard to look brave, he was either drenched or sweating and Knuckles couldn't tell which was funnier. Tails was trying his best to comfort the hedgehog, having recently constructed him a new life preserver and a set of oversized water wings. Amy seemed to be doing a slightly better job at comforting him though, that or the blue blur was simply scared of looking bad in front of her. She'd managed to take his hand, treading water next to him and helping him keep his head above the water as the waves rolled past.

Yes, everything was perfect. Good friends, the sun in the sky and a show. A good time all arou-

A cyan plastic disk, around the size of a dinner plate, had smacked him upside the head and tumbled to the ground next to him. Frowning at the disturbance, Knuckles raised a mitt to block the sun and scanned the horizon. His purple eyes immediately fell on the culprit. Upon sighting her, he knew the toy hadn't been errantly thrown; it'd been both purposeful and personal. Rouge the bat, jewel thief and spy, was sauntering towards him with a proud smirk on her face.

"Sorry Knuckie, I didn't see you there," She blatantly lied, bringing him back to his senses. As quickly as he could, Knuckles tossed the disk back at her. Despite the force behind his throw, she caught it without so much as blinking, "In fact, I didn't think I'd get to see you today. You've decided to grace the surface with your rugged good looks I see? Decided to take a break from our little game?"

"I have a life outside of you Bat-Girl," He growled, turning away from her. No response came, only condescending laughter. He couldn't endure it; his glower snapped back to her, "I do! Sh-Shut up! What're you even doing here?"

"Well, if you do, this is the first I'm seeing of it," The thief continued her approach, unfazed by his shouting, "I was planning to go for a dip, perhaps do a little bit of relaxing, but I've found an echidna in my favourite spot and there's an issue with the usual view," Well, he supposed there wasn't a reason she could be here. He was just so used to kicking her off of his island, "I have to say though, I'm impressed. Amy managed to drag Big Blue into the water, kicking and screaming no doubt, yet you're alone out here; watching from afar and soaking up rays," He couldn't see her but he knew she had leaned down to him. Her looming frame cast a shadow over his torso, "Aren't you red enough already?"

He ground his fists into the sand as he attempted to tunnel his vision on the sea and refusing to look at her. Even though he had only briefly sighted it, he could already tell that her swimsuit was too much for him to handle. He'd be reduced to a stuttering mess in a matter of moments, "If you must know, I'm keeping watch in case anything happens. Besides, there are plenty of lakes to swim in on Angel Island and I'd rather avoid the salt through my fur. This isn't a big deal. If I wanted to be out there playing with them I would be but I don't so I'm not. That's all there is to it."

"Methinks the guardian doth protest too much," He watched her shade shift across his chest, she'd grown even closer, "You wanna know what I think?" He merely grunted, knowing she'd tell him anyway, "I think you're so used to isolating yourself that you're afraid to have a little fun. Lucky for you, I know just how to fix that."

The plastic disc landed in his lap again, the surprise forced him to turn. She was clad in a one-piece swimsuit that mimicked the style of her usual unitard; entirely black save for a hot-pink heart motif that covered her chest. It would have been manageable were it not for the cut-outs. Rouge's usual clothes were tight but they covered the majority of her body, to call that outfit modest was a step to far but at least it hid the majority of her skin. Not only were the bat's legs and shoulders fully exposed but the outfit also lacked sides. The skin on either side of her belly was fully exposed, the cut-out extended all the way to her shoulder, only ending where the garb fastened around her neck and at points where stringy lines seemed to stretch from the outfit in an effort to hold it in place.

Finally having caught himself staring, seeing her smirk, Knuckles attempted to lock his gaze to her face. First he focused on her ears but when that inevitably failed he tried to lock his eyes onto hers. Those aqua pools were inviting but he was rather distracted. In an attempt to retain some tact, the echidna cleared his throat.

"I'm not playing your little game, Rouge. I'm not letting you make a fool out of me," Knuckles insisted through clamped teeth, "I'm going to lie here, enjoy the sun and laugh at Sonic when Amy inevitably has to save him."

"Oh come on Knuckie, you can't lose at this; it's Frisbee. It's just a little game to get the blood pumping, get you off your backside. Think of it like this, for once, you can play with me without being a such severe disadvantage," He felt a vein pop on his forehead, his brows knit together, "You won't learn the bitter sting of defeat, just the fun of the game. We both know you love our little games, no matter how often you lose; you keep demanding more."

"Demanding more?! You invade my island and try to steal the master emerald," He huffed, struggling to maintain his glare as her brows arched, "Besides, I've never been beat by you Bat-Girl, you've never successfully stolen the Master Emerald from me."

"Oh, I know I haven't…" The bat didn't know personal space, she kept drawing nearer, "But I could have if I really wanted to. You're just too fun to play with Knuckles. Stop playing with me though and, well, I'll get bored of you. Your precious Master Emerald will end up in my safe and you'll be left missing me," She was so close, her muzzle couldn't be more than an inch away. Eye contact finally broke, his gaze fell to the sand and he felt her fingertips stroke the back of his head. Annoyance and infatuation were expertly brewed to create a hot-headed mess, "So, what's it gonna be? Lose me and the rock or have a little fun?"

"L-Look," It sounded like he was whining rather than demanding, he hated that, "If I humour you for a little while will you leave me alone?"

Rouge released him and rose back to her full height, turning and putting some distance between them. She'd left him with the Frisbee, "When you do not want me I'll be here but, when you finally decide you're having fun, I'll leave you high and dry; I promise."

Teeth grit and fist balled around the disk, Knuckles clambered to his feet and dusted the sand from his fur. It was only now that she'd turned that Knuckles noticed how much of her back was exposed. The one-piece was practically backless; a thicker line of fabric wrapped around her hips and granted some modesty but save for a few, flimsy, crisscrossing strands near her neck so little seemed to hold it all together. So little was left to the imagination. His back hunched; an hour in the sun and he'd hardly broken a sweat but now he was drenched.

"F-Fine, you wanna play? Then lets play," If it'd distract him from her looks then he was more than willing to do what she wanted.

He rose to his full height just in time for Rouge to stop, turn on her heel and wink at him, "That's more like it."

His first toss wasn't anything special, a backhanded throw from his left hand that was easily plucked from the air. Rouge, from the get go, wasn't so gentle with him. Her first throw went wide, forcing him to lurch right to catch the disk. When he passed back she immediately forced him right, back towards where he'd been first standing. A vein popped on his brow, she was smirking while she acted as puppeted him. He tossed it back with more force but the bat was unmoved, his show of force did next to nothing.

Feigning a yawn, the bat lazily threw the disk short, forcing him to scramble for it; "Ooops."

Knuckles' rage annoyance wasn't remotely subtle, his teeth grit and a pout overcame his lips. Channelling anger, his swing went wide; the Frisbee whizzed out from his grip and flew out to sea. A curse slipped his throat, Knuckles tried to take off after it, but before he could reach the water a tan hand had successfully snatched the disk from the air. Wings were beating above the sea, holding the bat above a depth that he'd likely have had to swim in.

"I won't let you end our fun so quickly Knuckie," The bat rose a little higher, soaring with a corkscrew like motion. Before he realise what she was doing the disk had been thrown; the Frisbee flew far above his head and continued to fly along the coastline, "Fetch!"

He set off, tearing up sand as he dashed along the beach. Midstride the echidna realised what he was doing and how easily she was managing to manipulate him; the game had only started but he was already running like a maniac. Her control over him was frankly terrifying but he wasn't willing to back down. Knuckles leapt and snatched the Frisbee from the air, arcing across the sky before skidding as his feet returned to the ground.

When the sand cloud cleared the bat was around ten metres in front of him, landed a stone's throw from the edge of the sand. Reeling back, he tossed the Frisbee to her. This time his aim was perfect, the disk was caught just before it could strike her chest.

"Good boy, Knuckie. A little more of that and you might earn a treat," She called, whipping it back too him.

The bat was strong, he felt that much as he caught her throw, but Knuckles knew that he was stronger. A smirk managed to work its was onto his muzzle, he stretched his right arm across his chest, "I hope you're ready for this one Bat-Girl."

"What? Speak up Big Red, I can't hear you!" She shouted to him, bringing a hand to her ear.

Knuckles leaned in and started to shout louder, "I said, I hope you're ready for this-

Before he could even finish, still holding a hand to her giant ear, she called out again, "Huh?"

"I really can't hear you," The winged mammal shrugged, closing her eyes and removing the hand from her ear, "It sounds like you're full of hot air!"

The insult was two pronged; not only was Rouge mocking his show of bravado but she was showing how far she'd forced him to run. Why was he so gullible? Not only had she tricked him, Knuckles knew he was being goaded but he couldn't help himself. The echidna dug his heels into the sand, and quickly stretched his back. Eyes, almost hidden beneath a furrowed brow, locked onto his target.

"I said!" The disk was brought to his shoulder, "I hope!" Knuckles turned his torso, holding the disk behind his head but glowering over his right body, "You're ready!" He heaved in a deep breath; his hips had fully swivelled, "For this!" Despite his frown, the smirk had regrown on his lips, "One!"

In a single fluid motion his body snapped back and his arm extended, the disk rotated wildly as it rocketed directly towards her. It was practically a flat meteor, threatening to knock Rouge from her feet. The bat didn't even dare catch it; he'd forced her to chicken out! Or, well, he thought he'd forced her.

Rouge ducked beneath the dangerous discus and pride spread across Knuckles' muzzle but it vanished in an instant. She'd ducked backwards, almost as though the disk was a rapidly approaching limbo pole, but her legs left the ground too. A puff of sand took her place, rather than fall to the ground Rouge was flying after the disk. The echidna's jaw slacked as he watched the pair race away from him, before he could even comprehend what was happening the bat shot upright again and the disk was rushing back to him.

It'd happened in an instant, rather than daring to catch the disk, Rouge had opted to redirect his attack. Her nimble fingers had brushed behind the Frisbee and pushed it around her body; it'd been going away from him when it was on her right side but she'd looped it around her back and elegantly allowed it to fly back towards him.

By the time his mind had registered all of that, the disk was already upon him. Be brought both of his hands up to brace, the power had been lessened by her redirection manoeuvre but it was still incredible! The force pushed his heels into the sand and almost knocked the air from his lungs, the disk must have spun four full rotations in his grasp before finally settling.

As he looked up from disk he could see her laughing, slowly approaching, "I had more than enough time to prepare for that."

"Right, that's it!" He tossed the disk toward her, only using around half the power of his prior throw, and started to race towards the flying bat.

Her laughter only grew louder, it took less than a casual flit through the air to reverse her flight. With a single hand she caught his toss and began to lead him in a chase. She changed her trajectory and opted to fly along the line where the waves met the sand. Like a fool, Knuckles followed without hesitation.

"Catch!" With a glance over her shoulder, the bat tossed the disk back to him; not even trying to redirect his charge or knock him from his feet.

Without so much as a thought he snatched it from the air, continuing his dash. The disk was raised to his neck again and quickly thrown, "How's this!?"

It spun past her but, before it could race toward the horizon, he watched her arm shoot out and her hand grasp the plate, "Not bad… not good but not bad!"

It was as though they were playing a game of impromptu, Frisbee, tag/dodge-ball; both refusing to give an inch in this chase. As knuckles dashed he noticed that another smirk had broke across his muzzle. No, wait, it wasn't a smirk; Knuckles was smiling. As Rouge turned again, returning the object to him, he couldn't help noticing that she was too. From her sun kissed muzzle to the tips of her ears, it was undeniable; they were having fun. He was having fun with her.

Embarrassment did cause his smile to waver but the moment he caught that disk, Knuckles immediately threw it back. It was silly, it was childish and he was certain that he was being led on but the echidna didn't want this chasing game to end.

Well, he didn't until he caught sight of a certain dual hedgehog and fox trio watching him act like an idiot.


End file.
